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Brooks tripped Roxbury Latin 56-55 in its season finale. Methuen's Jason Buco celebrated Senior Night with 20 points. That was the second most of his career, with the high coming the night before when he had 25 vs. New Hampton. Brooks got strong efforts from unsung seniors Tom Ferlito of North Andover and Emerson Rogers.

Methuen's Jason Buco struck for a career-high 25 points in Brooks' 81-53 defeat of New Hampton B. North Andover's James Williams scored a season-high eight points in the victory.

Brooks led nationally-ranked St. Mark's early in the second half but, but the hosts, who boasts standouts who are 7-0, 6-8 and 6-8, dominated from there on for a 67-47 victory. Derek Murphy scored 16 of his game-high 23 points in the first half, when Brooks hit all eight of its 3-pointers. Ex-Georgetown High All-Scholastic Jaymie Spears chipped in six points for St. Mark's.

Shane Rogers hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Brooks a wild 81-80 win at Thayer.  The Rogers' game-winner capped a furious second-half comeback that saw Brooks overcome a 12-point deficit in the final four minutes.

ANDOVER — When your tallest player is only 6-foot-1, a team has no choice but to get used to the disadvantage. That, however, doesn’t mean Brooks hasn’t found ways to get around the height factor.
The Green and White kept their slim postseason hopes alive for at least one more week, rallying from a six-point, second-half deficit en route to a 75-67 victory over Phillips Academy yesterday afternoon.
After relying on strong perimeter shooting in the first half, Brooks looked inside against Phillips, which had 6-foot-8 Thomas Palleschi of Haverhill and 6-foot-8 Tom Hamel of Methuen and four others at 6-foot-4 — three inches taller than anyone Brooks could put on the court.
With an offense featuring cutters fearlessly working the lanes, Brooks used an 18-6 run to open up a 72-63 lead with 2:42 remaining.
“Every game we give up at least six inches,” said Albert Nascimento, who finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds while limiting Palleschi to only four points after intermission. “We just have to go in with the intention that we’re going to outwork them inside every game. We want to make them work for their points. If we do that and tire them out, we’ve got conditioning on our side to take it to the end of the game.”
Brooks (8-4) began the game firing from the outside, connecting on seven 3-pointers in the first half, and had assists on seven of their first 11 field goals.
“Everyone on the team has a great friendship,” said Nascimento, who is headed to Middlebury College next year. “We’re just out there passing the ball and having a lot of fun together. We have a good time and want to put on a good show for the crowd.”
But Phillips (5-10) kept things close behind Palleschi’s 10 points while Stephen Koenig and Haverhill’s Ryan Hartung combined for 17, including 15 from behind the arc. The first half featured six ties and four lead changes before Phillips’ 13-3 run the final six minutes to take a 38-32 lead into intermission.
“I was worried because when you shoot as well as we did in the first half and you’re still down by six points, that’s a little bit scary,” Brooks coach John McVeigh said. “We talked a lot at halftime about trying to get the ball into the lane. Of trying to get easier shots, and hoping that would open up the paint a little bit. We were obviously at a size disadvantage, but we had a speed advantage.”
Phillips took its last six-point lead with 8:09 left on a pair of free throws by Khalid McCaskill, who scored all but two of his team-high 18 points in the final half. But Jordan Johnson, who had a game-high 20 points, and Derek Murphy, who added 18, powered the Brooks comeback. Murphy gave the Green and White the lead for good at 62-61 on a 3-pointer from the wing with 4:49 remaining.
“They outquicked us,” said Phillips coach Leon Modeste. “They did a nice a nice job handling the ball. Then we got cold down the stretch, and that’s a bad time to go cold.”

Alberto Nascimento sank a putback off a Derek Murphy shot with 30 seconds left in the game to give Brooks a 61-59 victory over Belmont Hill. 

The odds of Brooks beating Milton Academy (14-2) seemed slim and none.  Then when it fell behind 15 in the second half and stars Aaron Davis (ankle) and Derek Murphy (broken nose) were injured, it seemed one in a million. But Brooks, with 6-footer Jason Buco of Methuen covering 6-11 blue-chipper Dennis Clifford, almost pulled it off. Behind a career-high 23 points from Shane Rogers, Brooks (7-7) threw a scare into Milton before falling 63-56 in OT.

Brooks was able to get some revenge on an early season home loss to Nobles by turning the trick on the opposition's home floor.  Derek Murphy had 14 points, eight rebounds and seven assists to lead the Green and White.  Boxford's Tucker White helped with eight points and eight rebounds, both season highs. 

Derek Murphy was a force at both ends of the court, leading Brooks with 19 points in a 50-38 victory over Groton. Jordan Johnson commanded a tough Brooks defense, coming up with six steals.

Brooks senior Jason Buco, of Methuen, scored only two points against BB&N but he drew a charge with 3 seconds left and his team leading by two points. The shot went in but the basket was waved off. Brooks then netted two foul shots in the final 3 seconds to post a 47-43 victory. It was the second straight game that Brooks won in the final minute.